


The Case of Soren’s Secret Date

by LadyGrey_BlackTea



Series: MageFam Week 2020 [2]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Baseball Idiots, Brother-Sister Relationships, Gen, MageFam Week (The Dragon Prince), Magefam, Modern AU, Separation Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:08:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23771323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyGrey_BlackTea/pseuds/LadyGrey_BlackTea
Summary: The brodigies’ separation anxiety grew stronger as Soren left home to attend college. To make matters worse, Claudia’s sure he’s hiding something and was set to convince her father to let her investigate.Written for #MageFamWeek2020 – Day 2: Modern AU, hosted by @yukifrill
Relationships: Claudia & Soren & Viren (The Dragon Prince), Claudia & Soren (The Dragon Prince)
Series: MageFam Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1712476
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	The Case of Soren’s Secret Date

Viren knew this day would come, but he tried to pretend it wasn’t real. He knew children grew up fast and that they would want to leave the nest one day, but he hoped that day would never arrive for Claudia. Soren could manage somehow, but his daughter? No, she’d better stay safe where he could keep an eye on her.

“Aww, come on, Dad! I’m already sixteen! You let Soren do it when he turned sixteen!” Claudia pleaded, tugging at his sleeve like she did since she was a child.

This wasn’t the first time Viren and his youngest daughter were having this conversation at the breakfast table. At least both of them were already sipping their third cup of coffee. He was checking today’s news on his state-of-the-art smartphone, already fully dressed to work in a perfectly tailored dark grey 3 piece suit with a crispy white shirt and a burgundy tie with golden accents. Claudia hastily ate a pile of pancakes with blueberry jam while she finished buttoning the top of her white uniform shirt. Her school uniform consisted of a dark teal and navy plaid skirt matching the necktie, with a navy sweater vest with turquoise stripes at the v neck and the hem. Her navy blazer embroidered with the school’s crest in silver thread laid forgotten where she discarded it in the previous day.

“Soren is Soren, you are you, Claudia,” Viren said, nonchalantly swiping up the articles.

“I know I am me and Soren’s Soren. Isn’t it redundant anyway?” she pouted.

“You know what I mean. Each of you has different skill sets, Soren’s good with the sports things and you are good with the brain things.”

“But Dad, I can do it! Please please please!”

“Can’t you just wait until Tesla has a real autopilot system? You know you still can’t let the car drive by itself.”

“It’ll take years until they get it working properly! I can learn how to drive without the autopilot, I know I can! Soren got his license so fast and he’s already going everywhere by car!”

“Your brother’s always had great coordination and reflexes, Claudia. That’s why he’s on a college baseball scholarship and is already a regular in the team.”

“I can do the coordination and reflex thing, Dad! At least let me get my learner’s permit, I’ve already studied for it from Soren’s books! I’ll do even better than him on the written test! And he can supervise me when I’m learning how to drive! Please?”

Viren shuddered at that mere suggestion. He feared for the safety of all the citizens on the street if his daughter got behind the steering wheel with his son by her side. Who knows if they’ll get too excited singing Disney songs in the car and drive over someone? Well, he wouldn’t complain if they ran over CLO Opeli while singing Let it Go even if the subsequential lawsuit would be a pain. The Chief Legal Officer has always been the one to disagree with him in the C-Level meetings to the point he almost suspected she did it on purpose, just to defy him.

“Soren can’t supervise you, Claudia. He hasn’t gotten his driver’s license for long enough.”

“What about Soren’s supervisor? The funny one with the parrot? I liked him.”

“It came to my knowledge that the man was blind. From both eyes. How Soren managed to learn from such an individual is beyond my imagination.”

“Oh.” She said, crestfallen. She tugged at the silver snake bracelet on her wrist, trying to find another argument to convince her father. This wasn’t the first time this discussion happened on Viren’s household.

“Why are you so fixed with driving so suddenly?” he asked her softly after a short awkward silence.

“I want to see Soren! Why does he have to live in that stupid dorm?”, she said, banging her fork on her plate with a bit more strength than she intended.

“Table manners, young lady,” Viren scolded, putting the smartphone down to look at her. “Don’t you talk to him over the phone at least one hour every day?”

“It’s not enough, Dad, I still miss my brother.”

“You need to concentrate on your studies, Claudia. Soren already comes back home every weekend even when he has training early in the morning.”

“But... what if he doesn’t? He’s doing great with his new college friends and might not want to come home anymore! I need to go there so he won’t forget us!”

“He went to college almost half a year ago, why the sudden interest?” he insisted.

“... I think he might have a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend,” Claudia confessed, with her eyebrows scrunched together in a display of distress.

“Wait. What? Who? How do you know?” Viren was caught in such surprise that he froze with his coffee cup in the middle of the way between the table and his lips.

“Haven’t you noticed, Dad? Whenever he comes home, he’s always texting someone with that dumb smile plastered on his face. I’m pretty sure he’s got someone,” she concluded.

Viren thought about it, but he couldn’t see any difference in his eldest son behavior. Aren’t teenagers always texting someone with a dumb smile on their faces?

“Are you sure you’re not imagining things? It could be one of his team members or perhaps he was just checking on his social media. Now go get your schoolbag, you’ve been late to school rather often.”

“I’m pretty sure something’s different this time,” she muttered under her breath, running back and forth collecting her possessions.

“Don’t forget your blazer over that chair’s back,” he pointed to her.

“How did you know I was looking for it, Dad? You’re really a genius, aren’t you?” she beamed at him with proud eyes, fetching the forgotten piece of clothing.

“I don’t need to be a genius to find your discarded uniform. Now get going or you’ll miss the first class.”

“Okay. Bye, Dad.” She kissed his cheek affectionally. “Just... think about what we talked. Please?”

“I’ll think about it, but I make no guarantees,” he finally conceded. If this whole story about Soren getting a lover was true, he would have to take some actions. His son has to focus on graduating college and on his training if he wanted to be a professional player, he doesn’t have time to be frolicking around.

***

The Silvergrove Academy was a large, handsome sandstone building with arched windows overlooking a small lake. It was backed by a small grove with high trees with a well-kept front lawn peppered with benches where the students relaxed during the intervals. It was close to Claudia’s house and she would have appreciated the picturesque scenery if she weren’t late every day since Soren graduated high school (he’d always been the early riser), but the only thought in her head as she raced down the tree-lined walk was that the school building should have been built closer to the front gate. She got to the lockers just in time to grab her books and run to her first class, but she suddenly collided with a younger boy with dark brown hair and green eyes, sprawling them on the ground in an explosion of books and pens.

“Oof! I’m so sorry, I’m late and I didn’t see you... Oh, are you late today too, Callum?” she asked, identifying her running over victim.

“H-Hey, Claudia! Good morning...” he greeted her, using the fallen equipment as an excuse to look down. “Yeah, I took Ez to school today and you know how he is, right? He stopped to talk with all the pets we found in our way and I got late.”

Claudia and Soren had known Callum and his younger brother Ezran ever since they were born. Their father, Harrow, was the heir to Katolis Corp, one of the biggest conglomerate companies in the nation. He and Viren had been best friends since high school, they went to the same college and, when Harrow was raised to the CEO position, he immediately offered the CTO job to Viren, who had been known for his “creative solutions” when discovering and implementing innovative technology. Later, when Harrow became a widower and Viren got divorced, the single fathers ended up being together all the time, both at work and on their leisure time, so their kids grew up very close to each other.

Claudia and Callum had almost collected all the school paraphernalia from the ground when another late student came crashing on top of them, having noticing the crouched pair too late to halt.

“Ouch... what were you two doing on the ground?” the newcomer inquired.

“Hi, Rayla! Oh my God, your hair is so cute today!” Claudia exclaimed.

“Yeah, it’s n-nice...” Callum added, looking even more bashful than before.

“Thank you, Ethari did my hair... wait, I don’t have time for chitchat, I’m late for class. And so are you two,” she said, running to her locker.

“You’re right! I’ll see you on the break!” Claudia said, hasting towards her lessons.

The classes went mostly uneventfully except for a little incident during Claudia’s lab class. They were dissecting fetal pigs today and she, noticing that the group behind her was scared to do the dissection, waited until the scalp touched their subject to release a loud piglet squeal, making the girl holding the scalp yell at the top of her lungs and run away from the lab room. It had been a very long time since she laughed so much.

She was still chuckling when she joined Callum and Rayla under the shade of a maple tree in the terrace garden

“So, what happened today, Rayla? I’m always late when I’m taking Ezran to school and Claudia’s always late when... she’s always late, but it’s probably the first time I see YOU getting late for school,” Callum started.

“Runaan and I had an argument this morning.” She contorted her face in an exaggerated grimace, drawing a resigned sign from Claudia. Rayla and her adoptive father had arguments so often they didn’t concern her anymore.

“About...?” he insisted bravely.

“Stuff,” she said drily.

“You hairstyle looks really cute today, Rayla,” chirped Claudia, tugging at the thin braid at the side of Rayla’s face. “Ethari’s really a great designer, I just can’t stop wearing these gold leaf earrings from his latest collection.”

“You don’t need to be a designer to make such a simple hairstyle, Claudia... but yeah, I like it when he does my hair, it feels nice.” Rayla slipped her fingers through her silvery white hair, combing it.

“Well, the last time Dad tried to do my hair Soren laughed so hard he choked and we almost had to rush him to the hospital”

Callum jumped at the opportunity to change the subject. He wasn’t really good with the hair and jewelry talk.

“How’s Soren doing at college? The last I heard, he had made it to the regular team.”

“He did! He said that he might even be the starting pitcher in the next game!” Claudia was full of sisterly pride.

“I’ve seen that four-seam fastball of his, it’s really amazing. Too bad your brother is a dumbass and he kept throwing it at the wrong times,” Rayla said, snickering a bit. She was a pitcher at the softball team and had an almost friendly rivalry with Soren.

“Lux Aurea Uni has a smart catcher that’s good with calling for pitches, Soren should be okay as long as he follows the lead.” At least that’s what he told Claudia.

“Does he still swing the bat as if every ball was a fastball?”

“Er... I think his new coach is working on it...”

“And still no sign of a girlfriend? Or boyfriend? Which was his preference again?”

“I think Claudia’s brother is too dumb to even know his preference, Callum.”

“Well... I think he’s hiding something, but I have a plan to find out,” said Claudia, smiling knowingly.

Her friends exchanged worried looks.

“I hope you won’t do anything stupid, Claudia,” said Rayla.

“Yeah... what are you planning?” Callum asked.

“I’m convincing Dad to let me get my learner’s permit and someone to supervise me and I’ll drive to Soren’s college to check with whom he’s texting so much.”

Rayla put her hand over her face in a dramatic agonizing way. “I guess my hopes were in vain...”

***

“That’s it, Viren. What’s on your mind?” Harrow asked.

Viren jerked to attention at his name, looking up from his cup of coffee. He, Harrow and COO Runaan had stopped for some coffee after lunch to get a dose of caffeine before the afternoon started for real. The Chief Operation Officer was a recent addition to the C-Level team and was preceded by the reputation of being fast and efficient in his executions and always achieving the goals set by the company. Claudia was really excited when meeting his husband, Ethari, who happened to be one of her favorite jewelry designers.

“Do you think Autopilot will be a reality any time soon?” Viren asked his companions.

“Aren’t you the CTO here? Isn’t it your area of expertise?” Runaan asked.

“Besides, your problem isn’t the Autopilot technology, is it?”

Harrow knew him too well.

“Claudia wants to get a learner’s permit,” he admitted.

“Uh-oh.”

“Exactly.”

“The Autopilot might be even more dangerous than a normal car, isn’t Claudia the one who walks into trees when she’s reading while walking?” asked Runaan.

“Yes, that’s her alright. Claudia’s been doing that ever since she learnt how to read. I think I have a video of her clashing against a tree and apologizing,” Harrow said, searching his phone.

“I have an acquaintance who’s a driving supervisor, I can send you her contact information if you wish,” Runaan suggested. “She’s got a good reputation too if you disregard the fact that she has too many ex-husbands.”

“Yes, send it to me. Claudia won’t leave me alone until she gets her way,” Viren said, resigned.

“She really has you wrapped around her little finger, doesn’t she?” Harrow asked, chuckling.

“Girls are headstrong, Harrow. Runaan also has a daughter, he understands the struggle.”

“Ugh, you don’t have to remind me...” Runaan said, rubbing his temples.

“Thanks God I only have sons...” Harrow murmured quietly. “Raising a daughter looks harder than managing a company, especially when there’s no mother to help with the girl stuff.”

As Viren and Runaan nodded quietly in agreement, the women present at the café released a collective sigh. All of them would happily volunteer for the mother role if any of the three tall handsome men were the father.

“Is Soren coming home this weekend, Viren?” the CEO asked.

“Yes, I believe he is. I don’t know who’s suffering more from separation anxiety: my son or my daughter.”

“They’ve always been very close, I have an old photo of Soren holding baby Claudia, they look so cute...”

“... You’re like an old dotting uncle, Harrow.” Runaan commented, just a twinkle in his eye to indicate he was laughing inside.

“You could have dropped the ‘old’...” he said in a whining voice.

“Runaan isn’t wrong, you know...” Viren said, feeling the corners of his mouth tug up involuntarily.

“Hey, I’m still your immediate superior!”

“Well, we should get going, I’ve got a meeting in fifteen minutes,” Runaan interrupted, getting up and putting on his navy suit jacket.

“Indeed, I’m needed at a conference call this afternoon,” Viren joined him.

“... You’re totally ignoring me, aren’t you?” said Harrow, running after them.

***

Viren had barely walked into his entry hall when Claudia came to his direction, drying her hands in a purple apron with her hair tied back in a ponytail.

“Hi, Dad! Welcome home! Have you thought about my permit? You promised you would. You do remember you promised me to at least think about it, right?”

“Remember to breathe while you speak, Claudia. And yes, I thought about it.”

“And...?” she asked, expectantly.

“We... might be able to reach an agreement.”

Viren almost toppled over when Claudia came crushing into him in a fierce hug.

“You’re the best dad, Dad! Thank you!” she said into his chest.

He patted the top of her head, slightly flustered but not displeased.

“You’ll have to keep your grades...” he started.

“You know I’m the top of my class even when I don’t make an effort,” she interrupted.

“... you’ll have to drive with your supervisor all the time...”

“Of course I will! Oh, do you mean you’ve already gotten me a supervisor? Who is he? Or she? Or them?”

“... and you can’t let Soren know you’re there,” Viren finally finished.

“What? Why not?” she released him, looked hurt.

“Soren needs to focus on his classes and his practice, you know your brother can’t do multiple things at the same time and he will get distracted if he knows you’re there. Just go to his campus, take a look at him and come back.”

“I can’t even say hi?”

“No, you can’t.”

Claudia frowned for three seconds before opening her big smile again.

“Okay, I won’t talk to him, but at least I get to see his face! And I’ll talk to him on the phone later!”

“Just don’t let him know you went there and you’ll be good.”

“Ooooh, I’m like a spy! I’ll get my spy outfit prepared!”

“... You’ll blend in better if you dress like a normal college student.”

Claudia’s idea of a spy outfit would probably belong to a costume party instead of a college campus. Even Soren might notice it if his sister walked around the university wearing a long-sleeved tight purple jumpsuit with knee-high boots and sunglasses.

“Humm.. boring. Do you think a cape is too much?”

“Er... Yes, it’s too much, Claudia.”

“Too bad. Anyway, I made your favorite crème brûlée today and I got one of the lab’s Bunsen Burners to caramelize the sugar!”

“You stole a burner from your school’s lab?” Viren asked, incredulously. Even his love for the heavenly creamy dessert didn’t let him forget that the Silvergrove lab was where students dissected pig fetuses.

“I _borrowed_ it from the lab.” Claudia explained, pointedly. “It’s a portable burner, so it’s okay.”

“No _borrowing_ things from your school lab, this is another condition for your permit.”

“Does it mean I need to return the other things I borrowed from the lab?”

“... Yes.”

***

The trio met at their usual lunch break spot, in an advantage point overlooking the school’s lake, but not so close to the shore due to Rayla’s dislike of water. It was the perfect day to spend outdoors, warm with a fresh breeze and the shining sun making the water sparkle like a diamond. They were so relaxed lying out there on the grass that getting up to attend the afternoon classes would be a struggle.

“Look who has a permit now!” Claudia said in a singing voice, shoving her permit on Callum’s face. Luckily, her photo turned out good, she looked like herself and she wasn’t blinking or making a weird face.

“I guess we should all stay at home now, the streets suddenly grew too dangerous to leave,” Rayla joked. “Claudia driving is a public hazard.”

“Come on, Rayla. It’s not that bad. I’m sure we’ll be safe if we keep to the roads she doesn’t use,” said Callum. “And don’t move, I’m trying to draw here.”

Rayla turned her eyes, but kept still. Callum always asked Rayla and Claudia to model for his Art projects, so they were already used to it. Of course, they demanded to be remunerated with sweets.

“And what will you do if you find out that your brother’s dating someone? Run them over with the car?” Rayla asked.

“I... haven’t thought about it... I think that first I’ll have to stalk, I mean investigate, that person’s life to know who they are, what they like, what they don’t like, where they live, who their friends are, what they listen, if they like pets, if they break the Kit-Kat bars one by one or eat it the wrong way...”

“How’s the last one important?”

“It was the most relevant one, Callum. Soren can’t date someone who eats Kit-Kat the wrong way, he might turn even dumber,” Rayla answered seriously. “Do you have any clues about who the mysterious date mate might be?”

“I have selected a few candidates, but Soren’s so tall and good looking and good in everything that doesn’t involve brains that it might be just anyone,” Claudia pondered, oblivious to the gagging faces Rayla and Callum were making. “It’s a bit cliché, but it could be his team’s main catcher; the other pitcher who’s also competing for the starting position; Soren’s been talking a lot about that outfielder who’s in the same year as him... humm, who else? Oh yes, the team coach; his favorite Management professor or her assistant, I’m still not sure which one...” Claudia listed, counting on her fingers.

“Have you met any of them?”

“No, I’m stalking, I mean investigating his social media.”

“Soren doesn’t post on his social media,” pointed Rayla.

“That’s why I’m st... investigating these people’s social media instead.” Claudia snorted, but a thought made her jump to her feet and grab her bag. “Oh no, I forgot to return some books to the library! I don’t think I’ll have time to come back here, so see you guys tomorrow!”

Callum and Rayla watched their friend stand up and jog towards the library building with some dry leaves stuck to her black stockings.

“Don’t you think Claudia’s brother complex might be getting out of hand, Callum? His favorite Professor’s assistant?! That’s simply too farfetched!”

“Well, Claudia and Soren have always been closer than normal siblings and they are jealous of each other, but yeah, it got worse now that Soren went to college.”

“And even if he’s handsome, he’s still a dumb musclehead.”

“... So you find Soren handsome, Rayla?” Callum asked, looking down at his drawing but not moving his hand.

“No, I don’t!” she said so loudly he flinched and dropped his pencil. “Ah, sorry. He’s just... like... a bit... symmetrical?”

“Symmetrical, huh?”

Rayla stood up suddenly, starting him. “If you’re finished with your drawing than just say so, I’m already cramping from staying in the same position! Get your stuff and let’s go!”

“So... you like symmetrical things?” Callum asked, tentatively while shouldering his bag.

“I like symmetry well enough to punch both sides of your face if you keep this conversation,” she said, walking away with her school bag clutched in her hand.

***

_It can’t be that difficult, Claudia_ , she thought to herself. _Soren mastered it in one go. It should be easy peasy for you._

“Don’t forget, dear. The brake is on the left and the accelerator is on the right. The accelerator makes the car speed up and the brake makes...”

“The car slow down and stop,” Claudia completed.

“Please, don’t interrupt,” Lujanne protested.

Her driving instructor was an older lady with completely white hair and teal eyes who, apparently, was introduced by Rayla’s father. She seemed a chill person, but she tended to repeat her advises more than once and it was driving Claudia mad faster than she could drive around the block.

“Sorry. It’s just... you already did this...” she apologized.

“Oh, have I? Hmm. That’s really all I’ve got for you now, I just need you to get comfy with the cars pedals before we try something different than driving in a straight line. Why don’t you try driving all the way until that traffic light ahead?”

They were driving in a quiet street with little traffic and very no people walking down the street. It was the middle of the afternoon, so it looked like they had the street only to themselves, but Claudia was starting to get anxious: if it took so long to drive less than three hundred feet, how much time would she need until she could drive to Soren’s college? She’d have to learn extra fast to drive to go see her brother at last. With this lasting thought, Claudia sat straighter, held the steering wheel firmly with both hands, took a breath and kicked the right pedal. The car’s motor rumbled, preparing to move... but nothing happened.

“Just because you can only see one half of the moon it doesn’t mean the other half isn’t there,” Lujanne said.

“Okay. So... I need to find something that’s keeping the car from moving and it’s not the pedals, right?” she asked, with a smile broader than needed.

“Yes. You’ll find the answer in the last place you look for it.”

“Only because you stop looking for it as soon as you find it.” Claudia murmured under her breath. The old lady could be a bit more helpful, couldn’t she? “The car’s started, I have enough gas; I’m pressing the right pedals, I think; the gear’s on ‘Drive’... what else could it be?!”

“Look for the parts in the dark and you’ll find the solution for your troubles,” Lujanne added. The woman was so _not_ helpful.

“Are you pressing the brakes on your side?” the teenager asked, peering in. They were having the first lesson on a dual control car, for security reasons.

Lujanne left a controlled sigh. “... You haven’t released the handbrake yet, Claudia.”

“Why didn’t you say that in the first place?” she asked, jamming her hand on the offending car part. However, she missed her target and ended punching her instructor’s leg _hard_.

They both stared at each other in speechless shock. Claudia was the first one to break the silence.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Lujanne. I didn’t mean to hit your leg, I was going for the handbrake.”

“I’m fine, just drive,” her tutor retorted, massaging the bruised tight.

Claudia pushed the handbrake down, hit the right pedal and the car finally rewarded her efforts with jumping ahead suddenly, jerking them upfront.

“Sorry. I got it,” she apologized again.

They were finally covering the two hundred feet that lied between the starting point and the traffic light when the lights went red. Claudia did the right thing and pressed her foot down.

“Dear, you need to press the brake pedal,” Lujanne informed, unhelpfully again.

“I am pressing the brake pedal! Why isn’t the car stopping?”

“The brake is on the left,” the instructor said, sounding slightly concerned now that the road intersection was getting closer faster.

“I am pressing the left pedal!”

“The OTHER left!” Lujanne interjected, pressing the brake on her side. The car pulled to a stop suddenly, right at the intersection line.

Claudia looked over to the older woman, who was looking pale and had broken a cold sweat. “Oh. Sorry. A wrong left is just another kind of right left, you know?”

“You said you wanted to drive over to Lux Aurea University to check on your brother?” Lujanne asked cautiously.

‘Yes! That’s why I want to learn how to drive!’

“I think we might need extra hours this week... and I’ll need to check over my life insurance policy to remove my latest ex-husband from the beneficiaries.”

***

For the first time since he got into college, Soren didn’t come home that weekend, claiming he had extra training sessions. He called home and spent an extra hour talking to his sister, but Claudia was still left devastated. It wasn’t right, Soren always made time for them. She waited expectantly for the next weekend, but Soren had practice again in the morning, arrived home in the afternoon, divided his time between his family and his phone and drove back after dinner, claiming more practice in the next morning. By this time skipped another weekend, even Viren was sure his son was hiding something.

When Lujanne finally declared Claudia wasn’t a public danger to the society anymore (which basically meant she could finally tell the left pedal from the right one), she agreed to accompany Claudia on a drive to Lux Aurea University. The drive was almost uneventful (though her instructor and the other drivers in the road wouldn’t agree) and her spirits were high when they arrived at Soren’s campus.

Every time Claudia went to Lux Aurea she would gaze in wonder at the main building. It consisted in a big dome with metal structure, its surface covered by golden mirrored glasses. The building glittered under the sun like a gold nugget, but it looked the most impressive on sunrise and sunset, when the low red sun would be reflected on the glasses, making the entire building look like it was afire.

Claudia was lucky to have arrived when the classes had just finished, and sat together with Lujanne in a bench, disguised with a LAU t-shirt that she got from Soren, baseball cap and sunglasses. She tied her hair in a low bun to hide her characteristic not-school-regulations purple hair ends and sipped a cup of coffee, trying to look like any other student. Soren’s loud voice was easily recognizable and easily to follow around, making it possible to make a full report to her father when she came back home.

She entered Viren’s study, opening the double doors dramatically. The office was a secluded room in the house where he took quiet refuge every night, away from his children’s noises. The dark grey walls were lined with bookshelves made from metal wires and walnut, full of books and trinkets he’d collected from his travels. The collection of fossils and animal skulls was fascinating to Claudia, but it wasn’t to Soren’s taste, which preferred the antique daggers and letter openers better. Black leather chairs in modern lines and a lush geometric rug gave the room a minimalist expensive look.

“Hi Dad, guess what?” Claudia asked, breaking the comfortable silence in the room, dimly lit by desk and floor lamps instead of ceiling lights.

“What?” Viren asked, not looking away from his computer. There were e-mails to be read, answered and filed and he meant to finish the day with a clean Inbox.

“You won’t guess?”

“No.”

“Meh. I went to LAU today with Lujanne and I saw Soren!”

“Oh, that explains why Lujanne looked green today...”

“Dad, you’re not paying attention to the most important part: I was able to follow him around and I have reports to make on Soren’s activies!”

“... Okay. Give your report,” he said officially, turning in his chair to face her.

“Yes, sir.” She straightened her back and made a salute. “To start with, Soren’s attending all his classes and he spends most of his time training, so I focused on these areas to find likely targets, I mean, potential dates. And my conclusion is: inconclusive.”

“Inconclusive...? That’s all?”

“Yes. He hangs with too many people and there doesn’t seem to be a person who’s closer than the others, but I still feel he’s hiding something from us. Therefore, inconclusive.”

“I... see. I’m glad Soren’s taking college seriously for a change and I strongly advise you do the same now that you’ve finished your... ‘mission’.”

“I request permission to keep the investigations... sir!”

Viren rubbed his fingers over his eyes. He knew the look on Claudia’s face enough to know she wouldn’t give up easily.

“You have permission to go there twice a week if Lujanne agrees. All the previous rules still apply. Now, off you go, Cadet.”

“Yes, sir!”

Claudia was almost at the door when she remembered something.

“I’m a Corporal, not a Cadet, sir! Good night!”

“... my bad, Corporal Claudia. Sleep tight.” Her father replied, hiding a smile behind his hand.

However, she couldn’t find relevant new data on the next visits to Lux Aurea Uni campus. The only things she learned were that her brother was learning how to bat breaking balls at last and that his coach was a terrifying woman.

***

The month passed in the blink of an eye and Soren came back home to spend the weekend with his family. These last weeks had been insane: he hardly had time to sit down and have a sandwich between university papers and baseball practice. However, as much as he enjoyed coming back home for the weekends (he missed his baby sis), the young pitcher couldn’t complain about his college life. He enjoyed his newly found freedom, some of his classes were actually interesting (Professor Amaya’s classes were the best), his teammates were talented and the university had a top-class training center. Soren felt he’d already improved a lot under Coach Janai’s supervision and he felt grateful that Dad had insisted going to Lux Aurea University.

“Ah, home sweet h-... Ouch! Hey, Clauds! Missed me much, huh?” he said, returning the bear hug with which Claudia had assaulted him on the entrance of his father’s home. “I heard from Dad that you are taking driving lessons, congratulations on finally convincing the old man! Do you need any driving tips from your awesome big brother?”, he asked with a winning smile.

“I never realized how hard driving was until now. I think Lujanne’s starting to regret the price she’d agreed with Dad...” she answered.

It was so rare that Claudia got insecure about anything that it awakened every big brother protective instincts he had. “Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it with practice and it’ll be so easy you won’t even notice. Now let’s get in, I want to see Dad and the dogs,” he said, hugging her shoulder and walking into the house.

Soren’s always felt that his family house was so grand it was oppressive. The living room was a well-proportioned corner room with double height ceiling and black framed floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the garden. A massive fireplace with stone panel ran down the middle of the room dramatically and the modern minimalist furniture made it look like it came straight from a decoration magazine. It was very much his father and very little ‘homey’. Viren was sitting in one of the leather armchairs, reading a book, but he stood up to give his son a greeting hug when he came in.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Welcome home, Soren. I see you’ve made a safe trip. How’s college?”

“It’s great, Lux Aurea’s facilities are amazing and I’m getting some more interesting classes this semester. Oh, and since you’re both here, I have a very important announcement.” The blonde straightened his back solemnly, missing the Look his father and his sister exchanged. “We’re having a match next week and guess who’ll be the starting pitcher? Yes, yours truly! Hey, why the relieved faces? You didn’t think it wouldn’t be me, did you?”

“Congratulations!” said Claudia and Viren, she enthusiastically and he, ceremoniously.

“The game will be open to spectators, you’ll go, right?”

“Yes, we will! It’s been so long since I last saw you playing, Sor-bear!”

“Great! I have another surprise for you both... drumroll, please! Hey, why the long faces? It’s a good one, I promise!”

Soren dug into his bag until he fished out two gift wrapped packages, handing the bright purple one to Claudia and the steel grey to Viren.

“Open up, open up!” he urged, looking as excited as if he was the one who received the presents.

His father and sister unwrapped two cotton t-shirts in Lux Aurea’s dark red color with catchy phrases written in gold letters: “My favorite pitcher calls me Dad” was on Viren’s shirt and “My bro can throw” was written on Claudia’s.

“The team has been designing and making them in secret for the last month so we could give them to our families! And it’s in Lux Aurea’s red and gold so you can cheer for us in our next game! Was I able to surprise you guys?” he asked with a smug smile. “You’ll wear them, won’t you?”

“Uh... yes, I’ll wear them. Thank you, son,” Viren said. Is it Soren’s impression or he managed to make _his father_ get emotional?

“I LOVE my shirt, Soren! I’ll wear it every day! And I’m so glad THAT is what you were hiding this entire time!” Claudia exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

“I can’t believe you noticed, Clauds! I was sure I was being secretive about it...” Soren pouted.

“Don’t worry, my dear brother. You were plenty secretive. Hey, have you ever noticed how LAU’s colors are Gryffindor’s?”

“Ooooh, now that you mentioned, Silvergrove’s uniform are kind of Ravenclaw’s colors you know? Blue and silver? So I graduated Ravenclaw to go to Gryffindor. It suits me better, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, you’re no Ravenclaw material.”

“Hear me roar!”

“... wrong fandom, Sor-bear...” she said, laughing. She did miss her musclehead big brother.

***

The match was scheduled to Saturday afternoon and the Lux Aurea’s campus was full of families, friends and baseball fans. The matches between the Lux Aurea Uni’s Lions and the Midnight Desert College’s Serpents were always popular due to the strong friendly (and unfriendly) rivalry between the teams.

LAU’s team was getting ready in their locker room and just goofing around when a handsome young man came inside, looking excited. He had dark tan skin tone, dark brown long hair pulled in a low ponytail and fierce olive eyes.

“Guys, there’s a pretty girl in the stands wearing our family t-shirts! Whose sister is she and why didn’t you introduce her to us?”

“Wait, Kasef. How pretty?” asked a stubbled man adjusting his catcher’s equipment.

“Very pretty, Corvus. Like... a homerun with loaded bases pretty.”

“I just hope the homerun isn’t because you messed up a throw, Mr. Relief Pitcher,” Corvus retorted, however going to peer on the locker door with the rest of the team. “Which one?”

“The one with straight black hair with purple ends and green eyes,” Kasef answered.

“SHIT,” exclaimed a team member with black hair arranged in a faux hawk.

“What, Marcus?” Corvus asked, worried. The outfielder was usually chill, but he was breaking a cold sweat with his eyes wild open.

“That’s Soren’s sister,” he answered quietly. Thankfully Soren had already left the locker room and was warming up by the side of the field.

“You mean Soren’s Claudia? Fuuuuck...” Corvus swore.

“Wait? Why are you guys looking like that?” asked Kasef, getting annoyed.

“Haven’t you heard, Kasef? Soren’s has a sister complex. Don’t let him know you’ve been eyeing his sister or he’ll eat your head out. Possibly literally,” the catcher answered.

“How can someone literally eat one’s head?”

“You don’t want to hear that answer, Marcus.”

They were startled by the locker room door banging open suddenly.

“Hey! Have you little boys finished doing your hair or can we go play? We have a game to win, gentleman,” said a tall dark-skinned woman with dark red hair pulled in cornrows.

“Yes, Coach!” they answered, immediately exiting the locker room. All team members knew better than to make Coach Janai angry.

Janai had finished inspecting the room when she noticed Professor Amaya walking towards her.

“Hello, gorgeous,” Amaya signed.

“Hey, beautiful.” Janai signed back. “Wrapped up your work to watch the match?”

“Mostly. Gren’s taking care of the rest.”

“I feel sorry for your Assistant...”

“I’ve just found out that my nephew’s friends with Soren’s sister,” the Professor said.

“I’ve heard he has a huge sister complex,” Janai chuckled.

“From what I heard from Callum, it seems the sister’s brother complex is even worse.”

“Oh Lord. I hope she doesn’t find out Soren’s got a boyfriend, I don’t need my starting pitcher to freak out because of family drama."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I started this work expecting a short fic, but... *looks at the word count* it seems I’m no good with either planning or time managing... -_-
> 
> Sorry it there’s any real baseball fans here, I’m guilty of being a baseball anime fan (and I just love those dumb pitcher + smart catcher batteries). For those who aren’t familiar with baseball, I hope the baseball terms didn’t hinder your reading ^^
> 
> To be honest, I was a bit unsure about writing TPD Modern AU, but I liked this setting so much I might use this fanfic as pilot for a new work. Don’t throw my unfinished works at me, I promise I’m working on them! >_<
> 
> As always, comments are very much appreciated. :3
> 
> I hope everyone’s in good health. Please, stay safe!


End file.
